The itinerary dedicated to the Etruscan civilization in Umbria passes through Chiusi, several villages around Lake Trasimeno and Perugia. The journey into this civilization begins right at Chiusi, a small village on the Tuscan border with Lake Trasimeno.
CHIUSI
Chiusi is one of the oldest Etruscan cities and its name derives from its Etruscan origins. According to legend, the ancient Clevsi (Chiusi) was founded by Clusius, a hero of Etruscan mythology and son of Tyrrhenus.
The Tuscan village, which borders on Castiglione del Lago and Città della Pieve, preserves important evidence of the civilization that settled in central Italy from the 10th to the 8th century BCE.
The National Etruscan Museum of Chiusi, located on via Porsenna 93, is considered one of the most important in Italy and houses artifacts from both private collectors and archaeological excavations.
Just 200 meters away is the La Città Sotterranea Museum, where you can explore the largest epigraphic collection in the world; an exhibition area with educational panels, photographs and a model dedicated to the myth and mausoleum of the Etruscan king Porsenna.
The Cathedral Museum, five minutes away, is divided into four sections that exhibit materials from the early Christian, medieval and modern eras (up to the 19th century). The museum also includes the Porsenna Labyrinth, an underground path of about 130 meters made up of tunnels that once belonged to a complex Etruscan hydraulic system. From the tunnels you then reach a monumental Etruscan-Roman cistern and the path ends in the bell tower, from the top of which you can admire a gorgeous panorama.
About half an hour's walk from the center you can visit some Etruscan tombs, located along the road to Lake Chiusi, such as the Tomb of the Pilgrim, the Tomb of the Lion and the Tomb of the Monkey.
FROM CHIUSI TO CITTA’ DELLA PIEVE
Just a 15-minute drive from Chiusi, Città della Pieve rises on a hill overlooking the Valdichiana, close to the border between Umbria and Tuscany.
In the heart of the historic center is the Palazzo della Corgna, where you can admire the Etruscan sandstone obelisk, dating back to the 5th century BCE.
The Museo Civico-Diocesano di Santa Maria dei Servi houses the Etruscan finds discovered in the tomb of San Donnino. The cinerary urns and funerary objects belonging to five members of the noble Pulfna family, originally from Chiusi, are kept here.
FROM CITTA’ DELLA PIEVE TO PACIANO
Continuing for about 10 km you reach Paciano, located on Mount Petrarvella and included among the Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages.
Here is the headquarters of TrasiMemo – Banca della Memoria del Trasimeno, a cultural center that preserves the artisan knowledge, historical memory and traditions of the area. Inside, among exhibition rooms, museum spaces and educational laboratories, there are also Etruscan finds.
FROM PACIANO TO CASTIGLIONE DEL LAGO
Drive on for another 15 minutes and you’ll get to Castiglione del Lago, lready inhabited during Etruscan times.
In the Castiglione Archeological Area they found Etrucan remains, including tombs and the ruins of homes.
FROM CASTIGLIONE DEL LAGO TO TUORO SUL TRASIMENO
Some 18 km further along, passing through the locality of Puntabella - one of the most beautiful observation points of Lake Trasimeno – you’ll find Tuoro sul Trasimeno.
In 1566, in the locality of Sanguineto just outside of Tuoro, a life-size statue was found depicting a man in the act of speaking to the crowd: it is the famous Orator, the only large late Etruscan metal sculpture that has reached us entirely intact. Today a faithful copy of the statue can be seen standing at point no. 8 of the Hannibal Trail, while the original is housed at the National Archaeological Museum in Florence.
FROM TUORO SUL TRASIMENO TO PASSIGNANO SUL TRASIMENO
Leave Tuoro along the SS 75 bis of Trasimeno and in about 10 minutes you’ll arrive in Passignano sul Trasimeno, a town perched right on the lakeshore.
The Rocca di Passignano, which dominates the town and the lake from on high, was built up on the ancient remains of an Etruscan wall.
FROM PASSIGNANO SUL TRASIMENO TO CORCIANO
17 km from Passignano is Corciano, another one of Italy’s Loveliest Towns, protected by medieval walls dating to the 13th century that were a part of the defence systems of nearby Perugia.
An essential stop for archaeology enthusiasts is the Antiquarium of Corciano, where the Hellenistic age is represented with finds from the Etruscan necropoli of Strozzacapponi and Fosso Rigo. Three tombs have been faithfully reconstructed here, with the grave goods placed in their original position. In the room dedicated to classical archaeology you can admire the most significant materials from the Etruscan Sanctuary of Pasticcetto at Montecolognola di Magione.
FROM CORCIANO TO STROZZACAPPONI
In less than 15 minutes by car you will be in Strozzacapponi, a town shared by the municipalities of both Corciano and Perugia.
Here you will find the Etruscan Necropolis of Strozzacapponi, an important archaeological complex that extends along the Pievaiola State Road, near Castel del Piano. The first discoveries date back to the 19th century and brought to light underground chamber tombs, dug into the earth sometime between the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE.
The proximity to the historic travertine quarries of Santa Sabina suggests that the necropolis belonged to a community of workers and artisans specialized in stone masonry. The area includes over 75 underground chamber tombs.
FROM STROZZACAPPONI TO FERRO DI CAVALLO
Head in the direction of Perugia for about 7 km and you’ll come to Ferro di Cavallo.
The Hypogeum of San Manno, located in Via Frà Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, is an underground Etruscan tomb, probably dating back to the 3rd or 2nd century BC belonging to the Etruscan Precu family. It appears now as a crypt incorporated into the small church of San Manno, within an architectural complex owned by the Sovereign Order of Malta.
FROM FERRO DI CAVALLO TO PERUGIA
Head east to Perugia, the capital of the region, situated in an enviable position between the Tiber River and the main roads that connected Etruria to the Adriatic and Lake Trasimeno. The city, one of the main of the Etruscan dodecapolis, still preserves extraordinary evidence of its past.
The National Archaeological Museum of Umbria on Piazza Giordano Bruno houses one of the finest collections pertaining to Etruscan civilisation in Umbria. The museum is located within the complex that includes the majestic Church of San Domenico, whose core dates back to the 13th century. Among the displays is an underground reconstruction of the Cai Cutu hypogeum (3rd to 1st century BCE) next to the entrance, travertine urns from nearby necropolis, as well as urns and materials from the tomb of the Cacni, an exceptional complex of Etruscan bronzes from nearby San Mariano.
The Etruscan Arch, located at the bottom of Via Ulisse Rocchi , was the main gateway to the city and was built by the Etruscans in the 3rd century BCE.
The Porta Marzia, dating back to the 3rd century BCE, was the most important southern access point to the city.
In the basement of the Rocca Paolina, stretches of Etruscan walls and some architectural fragments from the Renaissance period are visible. Equipped with an escalator and inaugurated in 1983, it connects Piazza Partigiani with Piazza Italia.
The basement of Palazzo Sorbello is home to one of the most important examples of Etruscan hydraulic engineering and architecture: the Sorbello or Etruscan Well. It is located at the highest point of the city, on what is now called Piazza Piccinino.
Just outside the city walls, near Corso Garibaldi, is the Sperandio Hypogeum, which features various types of burial archaeology: chamber, hall and pit tombs, dating between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE.
The Volumni Hypogeum in Ponte San Giovanni is the largest and most important non-urban necropolis in Perugia and recalls the architectural features of a Roman house. The hypogeum was the tomb of the Velimna family (Volumni in Latin), as can be deduced from the inscriptions placed on the cinerary urns and on the door jamb of the main entrance.
